SCOTUS Justice Clarence Thomas hit with even more ethics accusations
Washington DC - Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas was hit with new financial disclosure allegations as reports Monday said he plans to resubmit previous forms that omitted property sales to a GOP mega donor.
In the latest ethics blow for the conservative jurist, Thomas reportedly has claimed that he was paid between $50,000 and $100,000 annually by a Nebraska real estate company set up by his controversial wife, Ginni Thomas.
But the company went out of business in 2006, the Washington Post reported. It was replaced by a new company that took over its land-leasing business, but Clarence Thomas continued to report income from the previous company.
The new allegation came as Thomas reportedly has told associates he will file amended disclosure forms to cover blockbuster revelations in recent days about his financial ties to billionaire Republican mega donor Harlan Crow, CNN reported Monday.
Thomas failed to report sales of three properties, including his elderly mother's home in Savannah, Georgia, to Crow a decade ago. As previously revealed, the judge also failed to report that Crow paid for the Thomases' lavish vacations, including a $500,000 private plane-and-yacht junket to Indonesia.
Crow, a Texas real estate magnate and a board member of the right-wing American Enterprise Institute lobby group, denounced the reports Monday as "a political hit job" in an interview with the Dallas Morning News.
Scrutiny of Clarence Thomas increases
Thomas last put out a rare statement, claiming he had been told the vacations were mere "personal hospitality" that did not need to be reported to the IRS.
He has not responded to reports about the property sales. Federal law require judges and other officials to disclose all property sales except for homes that they live in.
Congressional Democrats have demanded investigations into the allegations against Thomas, whom they portray as a serial violator of ethics
Aside from his disclosure failings, Thomas has refused to recuse himself from cases related to the 2020 election even though his wife is a prominent ally of former President Donald Trump who pushed for him to overturn President Joe Biden's win.
He was the lone dissenter in an 8-1 decision that forced the handover to the congressional January 6 committee of emails and text messages about the insurrection effort from Trump allies, including several from Ginni Thomas.
Cover photo: REUTERS